Penn State invests $876K in sustainability projects through Reinvention Fund

Penn State invests $876K in sustainability projects through Reinvention Fund

Penn State&#8217;s Reinvention Fund , the Sustainability Institute’s internal grant program, has invested more than $875,000 in collaborative projects intended to improve and expand sustainability efforts across the institution, the...

Penn State’s Reinvention Fund, the Sustainability Institute’s internal grant program, has invested more than $875,000 in collaborative projects intended to improve and expand sustainability efforts across the institution, the university says. Faculty and staff teams have received $773,485, and an additional $102,884 was dedicated to support proposals submitted by student teams.

“These resources have been contributed from all of our functional units—Student Affairs, Undergraduate Education, Research, Outreach and Finance & Business—and represent an institutional commitment to sustainability,” Provost Nick Jones said in a statement.

University officials said 87 proposals were received from teams representing 13 of Penn State’s Commonwealth Campuses. Twenty-two proposals were selected to be funded, demonstrating innovative ideas from five of Penn State’s campuses—Great Valley, Harrisburg, New Kensington, Schuylkill and University Park.

The Reinvention Fund portfolio composition is based on a strategy of relatively strong investments in teaching and learning-focused projects and the exploration of transformational efforts at department, college and campus scales, the university says.

The funded projects represent a tactical approach to explore the Living Laboratory theme of Penn State’s Sustainability Strategic Plan, an immersive learning environment that utilizes the physical spaces, relationships, policies and processes of campuses and communities as hands-on learning opportunities.

“The project portfolio provides the tools for innovation across the functions of education, research, outreach, operations and governance to support the continued transformation into a Living Laboratory for sustainability at an aggressive pace,” explained David Riley, program manager of the Reinvention Fund.

The investments also represent a diversity of campus locations, communities and place-based approaches.

“We have invested most heavily in projects that will utilize our campus and community resources to dissolve the traditional boundaries of our classrooms and operational programs to create experiential learning opportunities,” said Riley.

With the support of an outstanding review panel, and a detailed programmatic and strategic review of the project proposals, the following projects have been selected for full or partial funding: